Santorum: As Enemy of ISIS, I Take Security Seriously

Former Sen. Rick Santorum said it is clear that Islamic extremists are a threat inside the United States in the wake of a plot to behead anti-Islamist activist Pamela Geller.

Santorum noted during his presidential campaign announcement on May 27 that he has been singled out as an enemy in an Islamic State (ISIS) magazine, and said Thursday on CNN's "The Lead with Jake Tapper" he always has security at his campaign events.

He did not elaborate on whether he has 24-hour security as Geller says she now has following threats against her life after her group sponsored a controversial Draw Muhammed cartoon contest and art show in Garland, Texas, in May. Two radicalized Muslim men were killed by police when they attempted to storm the event with military-style rifles.

"We take ISIS as a serious threat to this country and to anybody that stands up against them," Santorum said. "One of the things I've said from the very beginning, that is, these jihadists mean business, and they want to destroy this country."

He is urging President Barack Obama and Congress to take more decisive action to defeat ISIS, he said.

"As they continue to expand ground, they can call for more and more recruits, saying that they are being successful in taking on the Great Satan of the United States," he said.

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